Monday, March 10, 2014

The HoseMaster Visits Ramey Wine Cellars

The first time I met David Ramey, it was 1987, and I was attending the Sonoma County Wine Auction. In those days, the Sonoma Auction was attempting to emulate the Napa Valley Auction, with winery dinners and lunches, a barrel tasting, and a barrel auction. It was something of a four-day drunken brawl for me. I was still pretty new to the wine business. I’d studied wine for many years, but had just begun to work full-time in the business. Remarkably, I don’t think I understood how hard wine people partied. Oh, I have a bunch of sordid stories from that particular auction. After one dinner, a woman I’d met asked me to follow her home for a “nightcap.” Does anyone say “nightcap” any more? She got into her car, I jumped into mine, and followed her some 25 miles to her home. I pulled up behind her on the street in front of her house, excited, of course, and thinking I was about to get lucky. But someone else entirely got out of her car. Nice. I’d followed the wrong car for half an hour. Which made that person pretty uncomfortable. When I realized I’d tailed some perfectly innocent woman home, I threw my car into reverse and hightailed it out of there. I also got turned around heading home to where I was staying and spent a couple of hours lost on the unlit back roads of Sonoma County. I never did see the woman who’d invited me home again. Luckily.

One of the events I was lucky enough to attend was a luncheon at Matanzas Creek Winery where Dave Ramey was the winemaker. At Matanzas Creek, Dave was making some of the greatest Merlots California had ever seen. Famously, Dave Ramey had worked some harvests at Chateau Petrus, and while Matanzas Creek Merlot may not have been Petrus, the Merlots he made there in the ‘80’s were beautiful wines, soulful and thrilling wines, and really set the standard for the heights that grape can reach in California. I was thrilled to meet him, and weaseled my way into sitting at his table at the luncheon. As with much of my Sonoma County Wine Auction experience, I don’t remember much more after that. I’m pretty sure I didn’t follow him home.

I think of Dave Ramey as one of the best winemakers in the state. He doesn’t need the HoseMaster’s approval, and this isn’t news to anyone who loves fine wines. So when his Communications Director, Alexandra O’Gorman, invited me to visit Ramey Wine Cellars to taste wines with Dave and her, I was excited, and damned perplexed. I’m worse than a lowly blogger, I’m a lowly satirist. I have about as much influence in the wine business as Judge Judy. There’s not a thing I can do for Ramey Wine Cellars. But I’m not crazy. I accepted the generous offer and set up an appointment.

I don’t see a visit like this as an opportunity to rate wines. I find that practice fatuous. Sit with the winemaker/owner and be objective about his wines? I don’t believe very many people, if any, are capable of that kind of objectivity. I dismiss reviews I read of specific wines written from those circumstances, as I dismiss reviews of wines done at large industry tastings. It’s not that they’re wrong, it’s that they’re worthless to what your experience of those wines might be if you purchase a bottle and drink it at home. Industry tastings are the speed dating of wine reviewing, all about snap judgments and shallow appearances. Except with wine, you’re way likelier to get screwed. So this piece isn’t about reviewing each wine I tasted, but more about the experience and my overall impressions of Ramey Wine Cellars. I’ve never written a piece like this before, so bear with me. I’m trying to find my way.

When I taste at Ramey Wine Cellars, and I’ve tasted there on several previous occasions, I always come away with my faith renewed in California Chardonnay. I've always found it very difficult to find California Chardonnay that is genuinely compelling. Though I'd certainly call Mount Eden Vineyards' Estate Chardonnay and Mayacamas Chardonnay exceptions to that. And I’ve had a LOT of California Chardonnay. Partly, it’s style. Maybe I’m more particular about Chardonnay than other white varieties. If I am, I think it’s because Chardonnay seems to be the white grape that is the most screwed with by winemakers—the use of ML, of lees contact, of all kinds of oak regimens, all kinds of clones… So many California Chardonnays remind me of those poor little prepubescent girls dressed up for beauty pageants, a la JonBenét Ramsey. They’re someone’s idea of beauty, but, thankfully, not mine.

At my tasting with Dave and Alexandra, there were seven different Chardonnays to taste. Four were from the very difficult 2011 vintage. I asked Dave if 2011 was the toughest vintage he’s had to deal with in his career. Dave is a very articulate, very smart guy, and has a well-earned reputation for not suffering fools gladly. It’s like I have a twin! Dave said that 2011 was very difficult simply because it was such a cold vintage, but that he felt 2006 was a bit more challenging because of how much mold there was in the Chardonnay crop. I remember that year, it was the first year I lived in Sonoma, and there was a lot of mold everywhere. It was moldier than a hoarder’s house in Houston. A lot of the Chardonnays, and Pinot Noirs, from 2006 showed quite a bit of mold in the nose. It took a lot of work, and a lot of talent, to make great Chardonnay in 2006. Not a year to try and make a “natural wine.” Only an idiot would try that. I’m sure some did, but, as Dave Ramey puts it, wine’s job is to taste good. If you claim to be expressing terroir and the wine just tastes like old cheese from a blender, that’s just crap.

Only Nature can make natural things. Nature makes grapes. People make wine. Would you believe someone who told you they made the grapes? I’ve been around wine a long time. I can’t think of a stupider debate than Natural Wines. Humans spend 200 years destroying the planet, and now we think “natural” is better. An undefined "natural" at that. We are a sad race.

It was a pleasure to taste through the seven Ramey Chardonnays. It took us a long time. Dave and I rambled on and on about all kinds of things having to do with wine, and wine writers, and HoseMaster of Wine™. Dave’s very funny, and I was grateful and flattered he likes my stupid blog. He has strong opinions, and isn’t afraid to express them. Eventually, we tasted through all the wines, and along the way I kept learning things. About winemaking, about vineyards, about the business. I should have taken notes, but that’s not why I was there.

Ramey’s Chardonnays aren’t just good, they’re breathtaking. Here’s a list of the ones we tasted:

The common thread among all of Ramey’s Chardonnays is their ineffable mix of power and great delicacy. And if I think about it, isn’t that, in many ways, the very definition of greatness? Not just in wine, but in most art forms. It really struck me as I tasted the 2011 Platt—it embodies my point perfectly. It’s greatness sneaks up on you. The delicacy, in the Platt’s case, might make you overlook it if you only spent a minute with the wine. Its power and grace slowly dawn on your consciousness the longer you spend with the wine. And, yes, as it should, it just tastes good. You know, I don’t care what Dave might have done to it, what kind of interventions he might have made (isn’t winemaking, in essence, a major intervention? Being minimalist after that seems to miss the point), the wine is gorgeous. I’ve singled it out, but each of these wines was far better than most of the California Chardonnay out there. The next day, I took a few bottles home, the 2010 Ritchie was fantastic! Wow. Sexy and rich, but still refined and intricate.

I asked Dave a question I’m sure he’s been asked often. He was kind enough to suffer this fool for just a moment. I asked him what California Chardonnays he liked. He thought a bit, and the only answer he came up with quickly was HdV. So they can take that to the bank. If you’re someone who loves Chardonnay, you already know Ramey. If you want to fall in love again with Chardonnay, start here. The hardest one for me to like was the 2011 Sonoma Coast bottling. Sometimes, I think, the vintage wins. But even that wine was darn tasty.

We finally got to the reds. Two hours had passed. We talked about everything from Lo Hai Qu, to my Jon Bonné parody, to swapping Chateauneuf-du-Pape tasting notes (I was trying to convince Dave to start making Grenache, or some kind of C-D-P styled wine) to stories about all the characters, charlatans and clowns in the wine business. We had just started in on the reds when Dave needed to leave to have lunch with his wife. It was his birthday. Oh, man, imagine spending your birthday with the HoseMaster. That’s sort of like spending Christmas in the Emergency Room. With your gerbil.

Dave stuck around a few minutes to get my reaction to the Syrah. In 2011, he declassified the Rodgers Creek Syrah and put it into this blend. Dave loves Rhône wines, as do I, and Syrah is the only wine in his portfolio that has its inspiration in the Rhône Valley. For me, Hermitage is the pinnacle of Syrah, certainly in France, and probably the world. 2011 wasn’t going to yield Hermitage in California. But the Ramey 2011 Syrah is beautiful wine, and has that cool climate beauty and power of the Rhône Valley Syrahs. Closer to Crozes-Hermitage, or maybe Cornas, with all that blueberry, white pepper and smoke. I’ve seen this for sale at around $30—that, my friends, is a steal.

After Dave left, Alexandra and I coasted through the reds. The reds brought me full circle back to why I fell in love with Dave’s wines in the first place—those old Matanzas Creek Merlots. He might be better known for Chardonnay, but maybe that’s because that’s such a fallow category in California. His red wines are also brilliant. I was amazed he’d made a Pinot Noir! I think he was too. They grafted some vines at Platt from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, vines planted 2200 to the acre, which seems a little OCD to me, but there it is. The Pinot Noir had just been bottled, as I recall. I’d guess it will be remarkable with about six more months of bottle age. All the parts were there, just scrambled a bit.

It was a pure pleasure to taste through the reds. When I sat down to a place setting with 13 wines, I flashed on judging at wine competitions. You never get a flight like this in a wine competition. This was one great wine after another. The Claret is beautiful, very open and luscious, demanding to be consumed. Don’t know why, but I kept flashing on Nabokov’s Lolita. I think the Annum was my favorite. Again, it’s that Ramey signature of power and yet delicacy. People tend to say that winemakers need to pick the best fruit they can and then get out of the way. I think that’s naïve and hardheaded. Especially in a challenging year like 2011. Then the winemaker has to bring his best game, and Dave has plenty of game. And, hey, who doesn’t like Cabernet with game, especially venison?

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Ramey 2011 Annum was one of the top Cabernets of the vintage. Way too soon to say, but it has an early lead. Not to take away from the 2011 Pedregal, which might outperform the Annum given some bottle age. The 2011 Pedregal is very intense and very fine. Where the Annum is already showy and promises greatness, the Pedregal is still holding its cards close to the vest. I wish I’d had three days to taste the Pedregal. My hunch is it will be a classic one day.

Consider this piece an indulgence on my part. If you decide to buy some Ramey based on my thoughts, you’ll thank me. Most of you have probably had Dave’s wines at some point and you know how good they are. Well, a revisit is in order.

I owe thanks to Alexandra for setting up the tasting. There’s nothing I don’t like about her. And a big thank you to Dave Ramey, for the wines, for the insights, and for the kind words about this stupid blog.

We now return to our regular nonsense. But, first, go here and buy great wines:

20 comments:

David Ramey is simply one of the handful of California masters. His style is a little richer than your other favorites, Mayacamas and Mount Eden, but this is California and if we do not honor the fruit we get from our vineyards, then most of the wines are ersatz French having nothing to do with their own provenance.

David Ramey has proven, year in and year out, that one can make tasty CA Chards with big flavors and keep them gloriously in balance.

Maybe the Hosemaster should have yet another identity. The Nosemaster.

Hey Charlie,Even for me, the satire gets tiresome. I realize that's why everyone comes to HoseMaster, for the laughter, or to hate me, and a post like this is a huge disappointment. It's really just self-indulgence. But that's the very definition of wine blogging, isn't it? Self-indulgence? No other reason to do it for free.

It was a blast to spend two-and-a-half hours with Dave. And to listen to him wax poetic about all kinds of topics dear to my HoseMaster heart, as well as sit and taste his great wines with him. Writing about it was fun. It means nothing to Ramey Wines--he certainly doesn't need my help or approval--but it was fun for me to capture my impressions, and reminisce a bit.

Gabe,As I've often written, it's very disingenuous to rate wines when you've tasted them in the company of the winemaker. I don't assign scores anyway, I don't like them, and I don't think anyone cares about numbers I'd assign. The only way I want to seriously evaluate wine is with a meal, and over the course of a day or two. I can do that because I'm not trying to replace STEVE! at Wine Enthusiast, I'm simply an old comedy writer with a small audience.

Anyhow, this was kind of a new format for me, and I wrestled with it. So it's clumsy, really. But if you come away with a good impression of a visit to Ramey Wine Cellars, and an appreciation for how genuinely great his wines are, then I've at least accomplished that.

Don't worry, I'll be funny on Thursday.

And thanks for the kind words, Gabe. And for being a reliable common tater.

Thank you Ron for this kind and well written post. Both David and I enjoyed our afternoon with you and for no other reason than to share great wine with great company. You're a pleasure in person and in writing. Thank you Ron!

Bill,Hey, that was me and Randall Grahm at Bistro Ralph with Dave! I'm not matronly, those are man boobs.

Hope to see you in Riverside?!

Alexandra,Thank you, and Dave, for indulging me, and spoiling me with your gorgeous company, and those amazing wines. There are tastings when one has to try to like every wine, and then there are tastings when one can just sit back and savor wines that are simply thrilling. This was obviously the latter. Same time next year?

Jack,Exactly. I just wish everyone could sit and listen to a smart, proven, talented winemaker like Dave opine about the wine business, about current trends in winemaking, and everything else under the sun. I know my share about that stuff, but I learned a lot. So refreshing after reading so much Poodle crap.

Nice piece Ron.. makes you want to try the wines, just joking, instead of Hosemaster how about the Brown nose master?? There used to be a scandal rag in Canada called Frank and one of the features was the braunose of the week, I submitted one from this music rag I used to write for, Ivan Fecan has improved CBC music programming, then some slobbering praise for Sandra Faire's Anne Murray special... the cutline said, Grealis doing a double header on Ivan Fecan and his wife Ivana...

I'm always interested in insulting the wine business, and some of the yahoos in it, but I also, and above all, love wine. And, like every dork, I also like to talk about it. So every once in a while, instead of annoying wine people, I annoy my readers. If nothing else, I'm an Equal Opportunity Jerk.

Thomas,Oh, believe me, I'm used to the judgement around here, and on Twitter, and on blogs. I am also my own harshest critic. No one has ever been as ruthless about my lack of talent as I am.

Ron:Way back when, when I was doing wine tours and David was still at Matanzas, we had him join us at the old John Ash restaurant in Santa Rosa for a winery dinner - he was then as gracious and intelligent as he still is. Just about a year ago, we served his Sonoma Coast 2007 Chardonnay (I think it was the 2007) at a wine dinner and it was still stunning. Sent Dave a congratulatory note and he replied promptly and courteously. He is da bomb, as kids (not mine or I'd slug 'em) would say, and ditto for his wines. You hit the nail on the head for walking the tightrope of balance - and Dave doesn't walk it, he skips all the way from one end down to the other...

It's OK for you to actually write something serious every once in a while....

George,Yes, Dave is one of those guys you admire for his winemaking talent, and just like for his candor and sensibility.

Oh, I know it's OK to write this kind of post now and then, be a bit serious about wine. What's nice is that neither the beautiful Alexandra or Dave had any expectation of me to write a piece about my tasting there. Dave just likes HoseMaster of Wine™ and wanted me to visit and taste. How can that not be flattering? And I wrote the piece because it was such a pleasure to hang out with them. Hey, I'm nobody, I'm just a lowly Poodle, but I get a lot of people asking me to write about them. Ramey Cellars is one of the few that didn't ask. Smooth on their part.

Thanks HM for putting to print the Gospel! David Ramey does make great wine. This piece puts the facts out there and my God! You've completely eschewed the self-enflatulating tasting "notes" and crafty anal-ogies. We, not so masterful hoser-minions salute you with a delicious, frosty, Elsinore Beer. Beauty, Eh?

Ron My Love,Well you know that I am a big fan of these wine writing pieces, mostly because unlike the majority of bloggers out there, I trust, admire and know your palate. You are immensely well versed and have years of tasting...of the world's great wines, under your belt, (so hey, what else you got under there hmm?) so I know when I read you that you've got decades of great wine aromas and flavors to compare and contrast from. So from you there is something to learn...can't say the same of 99% of the bloggers out there.

I happen to like Ramey a lot. Not wines that I would take home to drink for me, but wines that showcase all the glory that California has to offer in a perfectly pitched and balanced way. I admire their wines a great deal so it was fantastic to read that the wines are as sound as ever. Thanks for the update love. I love you!

Joseph,"Hoserminions" is an interesting turn of phrase. Though I might prefer Hosermignons, which go nicely with red wine.

I wonder that writers and wineries believe that those elaborate Schildknechtian descriptions are worthwhile. They are more the provenance of carnival barkers than serious wine lovers. And yet they persist. Every wine blogging dimbulb preaches "Drink what you like," and "Everyone has different tastes," and then proceeds to describe wines in terms that can only be described as preposterously subjective and clearly intimidating. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, who knows about wine knows them to be self-parody. And meant for the suckers who believe carnival barkers.

Hey, man, consider becoming a Contributing Common Tater.

My Gorgeous Samantha,Well, we belong to a mutual admiration society. I trust your palate as much as you trust mine. We all get to bring home the wines that speak to us, and we all get to recognize that there are lots of other wines out there that are equally brilliant, but perhaps aren't our first choice. Part of reaching a place where you're comfortable about wine is knowing that, yes, there's a wine I would appreciate if I were given a glass, but, no, I'm happy with these wines I love. That, to me, is embracing wine.

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About Me

After 19 years as a Sommelier in Los Angeles, twice named Sommelier of the Year by the Southern California Restaurant Writers' Association, I moved to Sonoma County to explore the other aspects of the wine business. I've spent, OK wasted, 35 years learning about and teaching about and swallowing wine. I am also a judge at the Sonoma Harvest Fair, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the San Francisco International Wine Competition--so I can spit like a rabid llama. I know more about wine than David Sedaris and I'm funnier than James Laube. Stay tuned for an informed but jaded view of everything wine and everything else.
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